Gonzalo Muñoz, High-Level Champion, Chile, speaks during the launch of the 2019 Yearbook and the Climate Action Pathway.
On Wednesday, delegates at the Chile/Madrid Climate Change Conference looked up from their technical negotiations to take stock of climate action.
The technical part of the stocktake on the implementation and ambition of climate action before 2020 launched in the afternoon. Parties reviewed the work of the UNFCCC related to mitigation efforts, and supporting enhancing implementation and ambition. Many found the event sobering, with civil society denouncing a “lost decade” of mitigation and climate financing efforts, and some parties noting that the needs of developing countries remain unmet.
Appropriately timed, several events drew attention to the role of science. The Chilean Presidency hosted science ministers (and their equivalents) from around the world in a virtual meeting to discuss how they can contribute to the development of countries’ climate pledges. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) held an event to better understand the IPCC’s Special Report on Climate Change and Land. Opening the event, the UNFCCC Executive Secretary underscored that “the facts are telling us that we are impacting the support systems keeping us alive.
”The Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action also reviewed climate action in the first of its series of events. The 2019 Yearbook of Global Climate Action reflects the state of action taken by non-party stakeholders – businesses, cities and regions, and civil society. The report shows that these actors, often in collaboration with countries, are increasingly delivering on initiatives that can help close the emissions gap. But, challenges remain to scale up the potential of non-state climate action.
Technical negotiations continued, particularly for finance, loss and damage, and Article 6 (market and non-market mechanisms). Article 6 negotiators reviewed new texts in the morning, which some thought looked “promising.” The afternoon negotiations seemingly supported this optimism, as delegates worked constructively to move “forward ever, backward never.
”For more details on the day’s negotiations and to hear what delegates said in the corridors, see our daily Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB).
Informal Consultations and Contact Groups Throughout the Day
SBI/SBSTA informal consultations on the development and transfer of technologies.
Delegates huddle to consult informally outside the meeting rooms.
SBI/SBSTA informal consultations on the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage associated with Climate Change Impacts (WIM) and the 2019 review of the Mechanism.
COP and CMA contact group on guidance to the Green Climate Fund.
The room is filled to capacity as delegates gather for the informal consultations on Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
Delegates attend the SBI/SBSTA contact group on response measures.
Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture
The fourth Koronivia workshop continued for a second day sharing lessons learned about managing nutrients and manure in the agricultural sector.
Pascal Martinez, the Global Environment Facility (GEF)
Rafik Aini, Tunisia
Ellen Matupi, smallholder farmer, Malawi
Pekka Pesonen, Farmers
Martien van Nieuwkoop, World Bank
Pre-2020 Stocktake
Robert Bradley, NDC Partnership, moderated the event which focused on two areas: mitigation efforts up to 2020, and supporting enhanced implementation and ambition of climate efforts up to 2020.
Ovais Sarmad, UNFCCC Deputy Executive Secretary
Gonzalo Muñoz, High-Level Champion, Chile
Alina Averchenkova, London School of Economics, UK
Ismo Ulvila, Co-Chair of the Standing Committee on Finance
Gervais Ludovic Itsoua Madzous, Chair of Consultative Group of Experts
Joint SBSTA-IPCC Event: Special Report on Climate Change and Land
The SBSTA-IPCC special event was held to unpack the new scientific knowledge and key findings in the IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Land.
IPCC Working Group I Co-Chair Panmao Zhai
IPCC Chair Hoesung Lee
UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa
IPCC Working Group II Co-Chair Hans-Otto Pörtner and IPCC Working Group I Co-Chair Valérie Masson-Delmotte
IPCC Working Group II Co-Chair Debra Roberts and IPCC Working Group III Co-Chair Jim Skea
Findings of the IPCC Special Report on Climate Change and Land highlight that climate change increases risks related to desertification, land degradation, and food security.
Global Climate Action: The 2019 Yearbook and the Climate Action Pathways
Delegates gather for the the Global Climate Action event to review the 2019 Yearbook.
Íñigo Losada, University of Cantabria, Spain
Monica Araya, Costa Rica Limpia
Civil Society Demonstrations
Members of civil society demonstrate in the corridors, calling on governments to stop giving public dollars in subsidies and finance that are fueling the climate crisis, and to instead end the age of fossil fuels.
Participants to the COP advocate for nuclear energy to be used to address the climate crisis.
Around the Venue
Martin Frick, UNFCCC Secretariat
Delegates between sessions.
Ema Liliefna, Chairperson of the Equality Commission, Confederation of Indonesian Prosperity Labour Union (KSBSI)
A young delegate attends the Article 6 negotiations.
UN Security
Media interviews take place throughout the day.
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ENB images are free for use with attribution. For the Chile/Madrid Climate Change Conference, please use Photo by IISD/ENB Kiara Worth.
